Lawson’s injury puts UNC in jeopardy

North Carolina coach Roy Williams has ruled Ty Lawson out of Thursday’s first round NCAA tournament game against Radford.

There is no official timetable for Lawson’s return. Williams said earlier this week he would like to see Lawson practice at least twice before clearing him to play.

That probably won’t happen this weekend, meaning Lawson likely won’t be available until Sweet 16 action next week.

North Carolina certainly benefits from basically playing at home during South Region play.

The Heels will beat Radford easily, but could struggle against likely second round opponent LSU. The Tigers are very quick on the perimeter and good defensively.

Garrett Temple is one of the best defensive guards in the country. Marcus Thornton is a great scorer on the perimeter, and Tasmin Mitchell is a tough matchup inside.

I picked UNC to make the Final Four in almost all of my brackets. The Heels have the easiest road to the Final Four of any top seed in the tournament – if Lawson returns soon. Otherwise, it could be a real struggle.